That's what the first ever March Comics Madness final was, with #1 seeds Saga and Batman facing off for the title of best current comic book. Seventy-three years separate the first appearances of the two titles' protagonists, proving that the industry is producing legendary characters today while maintaining the vitality of its earliest cornerstones.

Greg Capullo and Scott Snyder's Batman reached the finals by defeating a slew of recent titles. Indestructible Hulk, Demon Knights, All-New X-Men, and The Walking Dead were all thoroughly bludgeoned before DC's juggernaut met its first true test in Matt Fraction's Hawkeye. The House of Ideas' newcomer battled the Caped Crusader valiantly, but it, too, succumbed to Batman in the end.

Saga, the comic industry's monthly dose of "Holy crap!", came flying out of the gates, shutting out fellow Image title, It Girl and the Atomics, and DC's lame duck fan-favorite, I, Vampire. From there, it was reasonably tough competition from Aquaman, Daredevil, and American Vampire, with Mark Waid's Daredevil showing the most fortitude. Brian K. Vaughan and Fiona Staples' tale of two plucky adventurers and their desperate, ludicrous plight was good for its number 1 ranking, though, cruising into the finals to face its second Snyder-penned title in as many weeks.

The Verdict:

Batman

by Scott Snyder & Greg Capullo (DC Comics)

Final March Madness Bracket:

Despite a steady flow of votes during the week, the Final kept returning to a tie. Saga took the early lead, only to be reeled in three times by Batman. The New 52 offering jumped out to a four vote lead on Saturday, but, by Sunday, Saga had tied things up once again. Just two votes came in between Sunday and the close of voting on Monday night. Both of those votes went to Batman. That's right, folks. Six weeks of voting came down to two votes cast in the final 24 hours of the tournament. Amazing!

IGN Comics Cagematch: A huge upset in the final round of the IGN Comics Cagematch! Check it out!

Benjamin Bailey -

Hilary Goldstein -

Dan Iverson -

Jesse Schedeen -

Joshua Yehl -

IGN Cagematch Final Standings:

1. Joshua Yehl (155 pts)

2. Dan Iverson (139 pts)

3. Jesse Schedeen (135 pts)

4. Benjamin Bailey (105 pts)

5. Hilary Goldstein (68 pts)

Okay, so I knew who would win either way a week ago, but it's still a pretty crazy story right? Jesse dominated the Cagematch for pretty much the entire tournament, but a slip in the last round (by 2 votes no less!) cost him the title. Dan faltered early, but he came roaring back in the final rounds when the picks really mattered to slide into second place. Joshua, on the other hand, was consistent from wire to wire, and it paid off handsomely. With a correct pick this week, Joshua has proven himself worthy of the title 2013 IGN Comics Cagematch People's Champion!

Thank you to all of our Cagematch contestants who participated solely out of a love of comics and the IGN Comics community. Congratulations to Joshua on this moment that will undoubtedly be the highlight of his IGN career, and feel free to suggest future Cagematch contestants in the comments below!

Last but not least:

Thank you to all of YOU for playing along and making this tournament as much fun as it was. Each winning comic was determined solely by the votes cast, making this truly a reader-driven event. In the same vein, if you have comments or suggestions for additions or improvements that we can make for next year, we'd love to hear them!

Poet is a writer and frequent contributor to IGN who is already looking forward to March Comics Madness 2014! Send him a message on Twitter or Facebook, and keep an eye on his IGN profile for March Comics Madness updates!

This is it! The March Comics Madness final is upon us! A pair of huge battles last week have given way to an even bigger battle this week. But that's not all! Things have tightened up in the IGN Comics Cagematch standings, bringing this year's title within reach of almost every contestant!

Round Five Results:

Hawkeye bows to the Dark Knight!

Despite well over 80% of the precincts having reported in, the semifinal matchup between Greg Capullo and Scott Snyder's Batman and Matt Fraction's Hawkeye was separated by only one vote! Truly a classic battle betwen worthy comic book titles. In the end, it was Batman overpowering Marvel's relative newcomer, garnering 54% of the vote. Saga didn't have quite so much trouble with the hiatus-stranded American Vampire, cruising to victory with 69% of the vote.

What can you say about these two titles that you don't already know? Batman is a title that has undergirded not one but two of the most successful comic book events in the past two years. Greg Capullo drinks gasoline straight from the pump, and you can just about tell the octane as it travels through his body, into his pencils and brushes, and onto the page. If Scott Snyder is the twisted mind of Gotham City, Greg Capullo is its Venom-fueled biceps. Saga, on the other hand, is a thrilling, heart-melting story of desperation, love, hope, and adventure, the likes of which we haven't seen in years (if not decades). If that wasn't enough, the whole thing is draped in Fiona Staples' ultra-slick, always engrossing artwork. If you aren't loving this series, chances are, you're not human.

This week is, bar none, the most difficult choice in the entire tournament. It's like choosing between your children. But you must! Have a good, long Winnie the Pooh think, and click on your favorite before Monday, March 25th at 11:30 PM (EST)!

Final Round Voting: Who's it gonna be? Batman or those star-crossed lovers from Saga? The power to decide is in your hands!!!

VS

IGN Comics Cagematch: Wow. A huge change to the Cagematch standings this week. Some left Dan Iverson for dead after a rough early round, but, with each correct answer worth 16 points this round, he's passed Ben in the standings to fill the third place spot. Considerably less surprising was Jesse Schedeen's perfect round, maintaining his 12 point lead over Joshua. The final pick is worth 32 points, though, so all four of those Cagematch contestants still have a shot to win it all!

Benjamin Bailey -

Hilary Goldstein -

Dan Iverson -

Jesse Schedeen -

Joshua Yehl -

Cast your vote before Monday, March 25th at 11:30 PM (EST) to determine both the winner of the first ever March Comics Madness and the winner of IGN Comics Cagematch!

Poet is a writer and frequent contributor to IGN who digs each and every last one of you. Send him a message on Twitter or Facebook, and keep an eye on his IGN profile for March Comics Madness updates!

The March Comics Madness semifinals are finally here! Sixty worthy comic book titles have been lain low, leaving just four superior titles alive in the tournament. Click on the image below to find out which titles they beat to reach the final four!

Round Four Results:

A fierce battle for the four coveted spots!

What a volatile week! Sure, Hawkeye and Batman destroyed their opponents (garnering 84% and 89% of the vote, respectively, and leading from wire to wire), but each of the other two matchups changed leads no less than FOUR TIMES during the week. American Vampire had a tough draw last week, squaring off with FF and spending most of the week within five votes of being axed from the competition. The final tally shows Skinner Sweet and crew with 58% of the vote, earning them a battle with the Brian K. Vaughan / Fiona Staples collaboration, Saga. Saga, for its own part, locked horns with the wildly popular Daredevil in a battle for the ages. Before the week was out, though, a push worthy of an Eye of the Tiger montage saw the indie title open a comfortable lead of 33%.

Will it be a Snyder vs. Snyder final? Or will it be Marvel's champion, Hawkeye, that makes it to the championship bout? Don't forget about the decidedly mature and decidedly outstanding independent title, Saga, that mixes it up in this week's semifinal. Honestly, this is a win-win situation. We'll be talking about all of these titles as landmark offerings and career-defining moments long after the 2013 MCM title has been decided. Still, I have two titles that I'm excited to see advance (if you follow me on Twitter, you may already be able to guess which ones), and I'm sure you have favorites too! Deep breath, everyone; it's decision time...

Round Five Voting: Really?! You still need instructions for voting? Of course not! Closing bell is next Monday night at 11:30 PM (EST). NOW START CLICKING!

IGN Comics Cagematch: Jesse Schedeen is an absolute beast in the Cagematch. "The Professor" had a perfect fourth round, reading your minds yet again -- FROM THE PAST! There has been no word on whether he will be using his newfound cognitive powers for good or for awesome. Meanwhile, Benjamin "Hollywood" Bailey and Joshua "Rebel" Yehl are still locked in a tight battle for second place. This one could come down to the wire!

Benjamin Bailey -

Hilary Goldstein -

Dan Iverson -

Jesse Schedeen -

Joshua Yehl -

Pick who makes it to the March Comics Madness finals by voting with the polls above! Any votes cast before Monday, March 18th at 11:30 PM (EST) will determine the top two comics on the market today. Any votes cast after that will be a complete and total waste of your time.

Poet is a writer and frequent contributor to IGN who thinks of the IGN Assemble intro every time he reads/writes/hears the word "meanwhile". Send him a message on Twitter or Facebook, and keep an eye on his IGN profile for March Comics Madness updates!

Out of the sixty-four best titles in comics today, just eight remain. It's now your job to cut that number in half. Top flight titles will be eliminated this week, making for the most exciting week of voting yet. Before that, though, let's take a peek at what happened last week and who's still standing following the carnage that was Round Three!

Round Three Results:

The stage is set!

After surviving Rounds One and Two by a combined total of two votes, The Walking Dead reached Round Four with 64% of the vote over Revival, a worthy indie title in its own right. Unfortunately for Mr. Kirkman's baby, it now faces the same book that offed All-New X-Men this week in Snyder and Capullo's Batman. Snyder's other remaining title, American Vampire, advanced in the closest match of the week, topping Green Lantern by a thin margin. Hawkeye, on the other hand, claimed the most dominant performance of the week, vanquishing Invincible with almost 20 times the Image title's vote total.

We're down to some of the most iconic characters and properties in comics today, with Spider-Man, Batman, and Daredevil squaring off with newcomers like Skinner Sweet, Rick Grimes, and Marko and Alana. It's sure to be a week of shocking developments, but the centerpiece of voting and discussion is sure to be Saga taking on Daredevil in Match 3. I love both of these titles, so it's hard to see one of them go. However, the voting results have reflected the impeccable taste of the voters thus far, and I'm sure that whichever title YOU, THE VOTER, pick will be the most deserving.

Round Four Voting: The on-page voting was a smashing success last week, with voting way up from previous weeks, so we're going to stick with it from here on in. The polls are active and will remain so until 11:30 PM (EST) on Monday, March 11th. Have at them!

IGN Comics Cagematch: There wasn't too much movement on the IGN Comics Cagematch leaderboard this week, as most contestants were able to keep the dreaded "X" from taking over their brackets. Jesse played the part of comic book prophet again this week, though, nailing 6 of 8 picks from the beginning of February and seizing sole ownership of first place in the standings.

Benjamin Bailey -

Hilary Goldstein -

Dan Iverson -

Jesse Schedeen -

Joshua Yehl -

Don't forget to cast your votes by clicking in favor of one title in each of this week's four matchups! Voting will close at 11:30 PM (EST) on Monday, March 11th, but you can help determine the fates of your favorite books by scrolling up and voting RIGHT NOW!

Poet is a writer and frequent contributor to IGN who feels a storm of emotions every time he sees Lying Cat in the bracket image. Send him a message on Twitter or Facebook, and keep an eye on his IGN profile for March Comics Madness updates!

As March Comics Madness moves into its third week, things are getting a little heated. We're down to just 16 teams, and there's a bottleneck atop the IGN Comics Cagematch standings. Which title will pull off the upset of the week? Which Cagematch combatant will make the turn toward home in the lead?

IT'S UP TO YOU TO DECIDE!!!

Round Two Results:

The heavyweights flex their muscles!

After a first round loaded with razor-thin margins, the voters lined up behind their favorite titles in Round Two. Almost 40% of this week's matchups were won by 80% of the vote or more, including flawless victories from juggernaut titles Saga and Hawkeye.

It was a better week for indie titles, as they went 2-0 against DC books and 2-2 against Marvel titles. As strong as Revival is, I have to admit that I was surprised to see it overcome Thor: God of Thunder - a personal favorite of mine. Marvel and DC split their head-to-head matchups down the middle, leaving their timeless grudgematch unresolved until next week. Some of the most interesting matchups in Round Three were intra-publisher battles, though. FF squeaked by Wolverine and the X-Men, as did The Walking Dead in its pairing with Mind the Gap, proving once again that every last vote counts in March Comics Madness!

New Voting Procedures for Round Three:

In an effort to make voting easier and more fun for you, Round Three marks the introduction of a brand new method of voting -- the embedded poll! Yes, thanks to Siphen.0's helpful article, we now have a slick new way of determining the winners of each matchup for the remaining rounds. Click away, gentle reader, and determine the fate of our 16 remaining titles! (Just remember to finish all your clicking before 11:30 PM (EST) on Monday, March 4th)

IGN Comics Cagematch: Ben, Joshua, and Jesse have surged ahead in the Cagematch standings, tallying 45, 47, and 47 points, respectively, after two rounds of voting, but Dan and Hil are still well within striking distance as the point value for each correct pick doubles once again in Round Three. Shout out your support for your favorite contestant in the comments below or share your thoughts on who you think will win it all!

Also, be sure to download Hoodlum #1 by our very own Hil Goldstein, available on Comixology Wed., Feb 27!

Benjamin Bailey -

Hilary Goldstein -

Dan Iverson -

Jesse Schedeen -

Joshua Yehl -

If you haven't already, head back up to the polls and make your votes before Monday, March 4th! First time voting? WHO CARES?!?! Everyone is eligible to vote in Round Three!

A final note: Many thanks to those of you who have voiced your enjoyment of March Comics Madness - it makes it way more fun to keep this going with the knowledge that people are having fun playing along!

Poet is a writer and frequent contributor to IGN who loves people who love comics. Send him a message on Twitter or Facebook, and keep an eye on his IGN profile for March Comics Madness updates!